The fourth time a Poughkeepsie police officer told me that my Vassar College Faculty ID could make everything OK was three years ago. I was driving down Wilbur Avenue. When the white police officer, whose head was way too small for his neck, asked if my truck was stolen, I laughed, said no, and shamefully showed him…»11/30/14 2:30pm 11/30/14 2:30pm

Conflation of gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia seems hard to imagine to those who are very well aware of both of these terms. However, it seems to be a fairly common point of confusion in articles about transgender individuals and extremely prevalent in the comments sections of other transgender related articles. »8/09/14 1:32pm 8/09/14 1:32pm

Although the former Secretary of State, presidential candidate, senator, and First Lady of the United States has played coy on whether or not she is running again, most political observers, both professionals and amateurs, think there is little question she will. I'm definitely one of those who believe she will.… »7/22/14 10:54pm 7/22/14 10:54pm

Being from Texas, I feel for others who are in states or regions constantly being used to score cheap laughs in the media. However, when it comes to being behind the times, Mississippi is further back than... Well, everyone else. And the state is probably going to have be dragged kicking and screaming towards the rest… »5/22/14 6:09pm 5/22/14 6:09pm

Do you think that the idea of the "male lesbian" was either a joke or the creation of the producers of The L Word? Apparently, if so, you're wrong. At least if you believe the 1980s work of one psychologist. »5/20/14 3:20pm 5/20/14 3:20pm

Anne of Green Gables may not be the the first work on your list of "classic queer literature," but maybe it should be. There's something about Anne Shirley which seems, at least to me, undeniably queer. It's little wonder that I have always identified heavily with Anne and the novel remains my favorite novel of all… »5/15/14 11:08pm 5/15/14 11:08pm

If some people are born neither male nor female, what does that say about our traditional views of sex and gender, and as these individuals will grow up to have sexual orientations, how can those orientations be defined? These are the questions asked by Michael Passaro in an essay which explores the possibility for a… »5/06/14 11:04pm 5/06/14 11:04pm

Recently the term "transgender culture" has became more and more common a term in discourse about LGBT topics. Perhaps alongside "gay culture" or "queer culture," this new term is seen as recognising the unique lived experiences of transgender individuals. Yet, is this a term with actual substance? »4/28/14 9:06pm 4/28/14 9:06pm

In the lead up to the announcement of Time's 100 Most Influential People, it looked as though Laverne Cox really had a chance to make the list. She seemed to be getting a strong push online from lots of different quarters, but should she have been named to the list? »4/26/14 5:21pm 4/26/14 5:21pm

I grew up Roman Catholic. Yet, two years ago, I left communion with Rome after Pope Benedict XVI called same-sex marriage the most significant threat to Western civilisation in the world today. I turned to the Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican Communion, as my new spiritual home. But I fear that home will fall,… »4/15/14 9:55pm 4/15/14 9:55pm

Today is the LGBT Day of Silence in the United States and many other parts of the world. It's supposed to be symbolic of the silence in which LGBT youth suffer their hidden sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Specifically it is supposed to draw attention to bullying's ability to silence self expression. In some… »4/11/14 10:04am 4/11/14 10:04am

"So I was asked to write about the Trans(-?) male/men/dude/masculine or whatever else we feel like calling ourselves, experience and feminism (or at least my personal experience and thoughts)," writes C, a trans man who wants to offer his perspective: »4/06/14 2:30pm 4/06/14 2:30pm

UNC has recently been exposed for its phony independent studies classes, a scam that was cooked up by the university for athletes to earn easy A's. Here is an example of a football player's ridiculous, one-paragraph final paper that got an A-, securing his position on his team. »3/27/14 11:00am 3/27/14 11:00am

Let's talk about bathrooms. Let's talk about the transgender experience with bathrooms. Let's talk about my experiences with bathrooms. Let's talk about how what I need, and what I feel other trans people need, is often actually ignored in the sensational debate over all-gender bathrooms/mixed gender bathrooms, or… »3/17/14 10:58pm 3/17/14 10:58pm

Women who identify as straight and who kiss other women for attention, a thrill, or "an experience." Sigh. I used to find them profoundly annoying. Maybe not so much anymore. Yet while I have nothing against a good make out session with Ms. Straighty McStraightyPants, I'm also not really interested in dating her. Or… »3/13/14 11:28am 3/13/14 11:28am

My eyelashes are mascara-less stumps and I’ve been commando in the same stained, hot pink sweats for 36 hours, but I don’t care. It’s 2011, and my mom and I are at my grandmother’s house in Michigan hoping for some rest after a hellish year spent cycling through chemo, radiation, and surgeries. »11/23/13 3:14pm 11/23/13 3:14pm

Spirits, alcoholic ones, have their way of sinking their depressive tendrils deep inside, drawing up everything we keep locked away. My man and I spent the night apart, out and about Brooklyn. We lace fingers and make our way home, bellies full of fried food and spirits. He falls asleep soundly, peacefully. »11/02/13 2:52pm 11/02/13 2:52pm

Lena Dunham's essay "Deliverance" appears in the November issue of The New Yorker and it's a surprisingly delicate and sensitive piece on what it's like to get raised on takeout food as opposed to home cooked meals. (Disclaimer: If you like Lena Dunham then you will probably like this essay; if you don't like Lena… »10/29/13 12:40pm 10/29/13 12:40pm

(This piece originally appeared on Nautilus.) About six years ago, I was putting a new roof on a 200-year-old house on an island in Maine when I got a call from Justin Timberlake’s cousin and assistant, a girl named Melissa. I put down my nail gun, told my boss I was taking five, and answered. »9/28/13 4:30pm 9/28/13 4:30pm